The World Economic Forum has announced the 2025 cohort of its Technology Pioneers community, recognizing 100 early-stage companies from 28 countries.
Among the cohort are three companies developing novel proteins and ingredients:
- Arsenale Bioyards, Italy — Building lab-to-production infrastructure enabling fast, low-cost biomanufacturing at an industrial scale. The company raised $10 million earlier this year to scale its AI-driven precision fermentation process.
- Cauldron, Australia — Commercializing advanced continuous fermentation technology to unlock price parity for mainstream bio-manufactured goods. Cauldron secured $6.25 million in Series A funding last year, bringing its total raised funds to $20 million. The company has also announced plans to construct what is claimed to be the Asia-Pacific’s largest precision fermentation facility, with support from the Queensland government.
- Shiru, United States — Utilizing AI to identify and develop naturally occurring functional ingredients. The company recently partnered with plant biotechnology pioneer GreenLab to commercialize novel food proteins made using GreenLab’s proprietary corn expression system. This gives Shiru access to a high-yield, scalable manufacturing platform that extends beyond microbial and precision fermentation, enabling the production of functional ingredients across bioindustrial applications.
“You need a community to move your mission forward”
2025 marks the 25th year of the Technology Pioneers program. Alumni include notable names like Google, Dropbox, PayPal, and SoundCloud, along with companies focused on alternative proteins such as Air Protein and Modern Meadow.
The World Economic Forum notes that the U.S. remains the top contributor to the community, but Europe’s share has surged to 28%, up from 20% last year. China and India are also emerging as major tech innovation hubs.
“There has never been a more exciting time to dive headfirst into tech innovation. But no one gets far alone – you need a community to move your mission forward,” said Verena Kuhn, Head of Innovator Communities, World Economic Forum. “As we mark 25 years of the Technology Pioneers program, this global community continues to connect start-ups to the networks and ecosystems they need to scale.”
